There's No 'Selling' This 'Selling Sunset' Star: Emma Hernan Dishes On Investing In Empanadas!

There's so much more to "Selling Sunset" star Emma Hernan than just her pure beauty!

The 30-year-old entrepreneur, TV personality, and real estate agent has been hard at work cultivating her career roadmap since she was a young girl.

Hernan is the founder of Emma Leigh & Co., a line of plant-based empanadas, which has been referenced on "Selling Sunset" multiple times, but there is so much more to Hernan and the company's story than the occasional bit of air time.

Hernan recently sat down with Nicole Lapin for an episode of her podcast, "Money Rehab," to dish about investment and the role it has played in Hernan's entrepreneurship journey. Throughout her interview, Hernan gave many incredible pieces of insight into the backbone and the foundation of her career and the inspiration behind her dreams!

Hernan gave a crash course on her personal handbook to success, and how she experienced certain milestones and learned from business practices picked up through years of learning and navigating personal entrepreneurship.

Hernan began planting the seeds for Emma Leigh & Co. as a young girl by watching those familial figures around her enact and experience their own components in their respective entrepreneurship journeys and memories with her mother.

"I was that little 11-year-old girl giving out samples," Hernan shared in her interview, describing how she and her mother would distribute grocery store samples of her grandfather's seafood products. "So to say it's in my blood, it's in my blood," she laughed.

Locating to sunny Los Angeles served as an inspiration for the "Selling Sunset" star to find her footing in cultivating a food product that embodies the vast health industry and its overall presence in California. Hernan was inspired to cultivate her own product and to "take over the space" she felt was lacking in plant-based products.

Hernan decided she would conquer the world of appetizers, which provided an endless list of possibilities! Her decision to partner with Los Angeles-based company, Beyond Meat, helped open the door and kickstart her vision into becoming a reality.

"I've always had a business hat on first," she told Lapin, "and brand awareness with Beyond Meat, most people know what's in [their products]. One of my items is an empanada. If you were going to buy just an old empanada that was like, plant-based," Hernan continued, "you would go to grab it, but you wouldn't necessarily know what was in it..."

Total transparency was one of Hernan's biggest goals as she set out to launch her own company.

"I knew that I would eventually want to start my own company, and I wanted to create kind of a company that was giving back, and creating something [with] a niche," the future Emma Leigh & Co. founder explained.

Hernan's business expertise served as a crucial motivational factor as she went to work brainstorming her vision. Beyond Meat and their established reputation helped propel Hernan forward in a major way!

"I feel like I heard about Impossible and Beyond Meat before anyone really knew exactly what they were. So I knew I wanted to do something with them," she revealed.

Hernan's deep-rooted love and inspiration are alive and well on Emma Leigh & Co.'s website; a testimonial message from Hernan greets customers, serving as a welcome mat for customers to absorb her enthusiasm and fully understand her vision.

"As someone deeply committed to family, going back to my roots has always seemed to be a reoccurring theme in my life," the message begins, "I have always valued taking time to catch up with people I love..."

Hernan's pivot to reality television was also rooted and influenced by the lessons she had picked up through her entrepreneurial experience!

"I wanted to kind of share my philosophies and share, you know, what I've gone out and done throughout my career," she explained. Presenting her authentic self to the world and showcasing her entrepreneurial mindset served as the catalyst for taking the leap into reality TV.

One of the biggest components of Hernan's authentic self? The life-long dedication she has given to being the bigger person, and rising above any strife, especially the competitive type, which "Selling Sunset" viewers know is a much-needed survival method!

In order to combat potential situations of on-screen cattiness, Hernan's chosen method is to "always take the high road," which has been her long-time approach since her school days wherein she dealt with bullying from female classmates.

Taking the high road has also helped Hernan within off-camera professional spaces. She credits her politeness and internal preparation as her secret to seizing and shifting the focus to her skills, which allows her to showcase her drive!

Emma Hernan's episode of "Money Rehab" is now available!